


Big Bad Boss

by TwinAngel01



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Giant Growth, Rampaging Hero vs. Villain Fight, Villainous - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-11-16 06:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinAngel01/pseuds/TwinAngel01
Summary: Flug is asked by Black Hat to revise the shrink ray. But when Dementia comes in, causing trouble as usual, she gets Flug into big, big trouble with the boss.





	1. Gone So Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, I'm terrible at coming up with titles of any kind.

The Black Hat Manor, entering from the twilight of a pitch-black night to a dazzling morning light, stood quiet and forlorn as the occupants rested inside, oblivious to the sun's rays streaming through their windows.

  
The noise of a wailing alarm clock blared across the mansion, surprisingly waking no one but the person whom the clock belonged to. Dr. Flug, a wimpy scientist who insists on always wearing a paper bag over his head, jolted from the sudden, loud frequency, and scrambled to turn the thing off. This ended up in him falling out of his bed in a heap of blue blankets with the alarm clock resting on his head, the loud beeping persisting on keeping him awake. Groggily, with sleep still fogging his eyes, he pulled himself up and onto the bed, pushing the button that would make the horrible noise stop. Yawning, and with the trauma over, he slowly lowered his frame back against the lumpy mattress of his bed. It wasn't the most comfortable thing he could have slept on, but it sure was a lot better than the bed of nails he was offered. Dr. Flug was just about to close his eyes and drift back into his not-that-pleasant dreams when he happened to catch sight of the time of the alarm clock. Once again, he was jolted out of bed.

  
10:45 am?!?! Had he really slept in that long?!?!

  
"Gah! I overslept!" he exclaimed as he dashed around his bedroom, franticly trying to get dressed and out to his lab. "If Black Hat finds out....h..he'll kill me!" In record time, he ripped off his aliens and UFO pajamas and quickly put on a t-shirt, white lab coat, a pair of jeans, sneakers, and his signature goggles before bursting out the door and sprinting down the hall to his laboratory, hoping not to run into the boss.

  
Luckily it never happened. He was able to safely make it to his lab without being spotted. In fact, he had noticed something strange. As he had ran through the hall, he hadn't heard a sound from any of the rooms, which was weird....especially for Dementia. That girl can't even keep quiet in her sleep.

  
"Perhaps everyone is still asleep," he mused to himself, noticing that 5.0.5 was still sleeping soundly in the corner of the lab, curled up in a big, blue, fury ball. It wasn't that common....actually, Black Hat never slept in this late. Did something happen? Flug's eyes landed at his desk where he saw the remains of a shrink ray he was asked...er, demanded, to revise. He shrugged the weird incident off and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to finish the device before his boss threw a fit over the late deadline.

  
Flug causally strolled over to his desk and held the unfinished gun in his hands. He just needed to add a few more components, test it, and then if all went right it would be done. He remembered the first time the shrink ray was used. Then he had installed a growth ray into it as well. Why he had done that, he did not know. Thinking back on it, why would a villain zap his nemesis back to normal size after shrinking him? You would think the villain would want to keep the hero tiny for his own use. Of course, the shrink ray part worked fine...really well actually. But the growth ray on the other hand....that backfired. It ended up turning 5.0.5 into a ginormous bear, rampaging the city. Flug had had to chase him down and shrink him back to normal size. Not a fun job, especially when he came extremely close to being stepped on. Some good came out of it though. Although no one wanted to buy 5.0.5 (his boss had tried to put him up for sale), his destructive rampage through the city did earn Black Hat more villainous credit to his evil reputation.

  
Still, after the incident Black Hat demanded that the shrink ray be rebuilt, this time without the growth ray. So Flug had stayed up for hours last night making tweaks to the device and trying to perfect it. And now was the moment of truth. All he had to do was put the shrink ray cartridge into the gun, secure it place, and it would be ready for testing. Just as Flug was about to insert the circuit board, he heard an annoying, feminine voice shouting down the hallway. And it sounded like it was heading towards his lab.

  
_Oh no_ , he thought. _That must be_.....

  
"Hey Fluuuuug Buuuug!" The door to his lab slammed open, and before he could turn all the way around to face the person, a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face them, causing him to drop the circuit board he was holding. "Good morning!" a crazy looking girl with long green and red hair, a lizard hood, and a punk-rock outfit shouted into his face, waking 5.0.5.

  
5.0.5 waddled over to the pair, smiling and squeaking a, "Hello," in response to the girl.

  
"Dementia, get out of my lab!" Dr. Flug shouted back at her. "You can't be in here. I'm trying to finish the shrink ray, and I'm already on a late deadline." She stuck out her tongue and shrugged her shoulders, lazily making her way to his desk where the shrink ray sat. Eyeing the contents, she spotted the circuit laying on the ground and, curious, she picked it up, running her fingers across the many wires.

  
"Put that down!!!" yelled Dr. Flug, clearly agitated with her. He tried to grab it out of her hand, only for her to jump right on top of his desk! Papers, flasks, and pieces of metal flew off the desk as she twirled about, holding up her prize.

  
"What is this, Flugy?" she asked, waving the circuit board in his face. Once again he tried to snatch it, but she quickly reeled her hand back, cackling like an insane person. Insane is just the right description for Dementia.

  
"That's the circuit board I need to finish the shrink ray," he explained in a huff. "Now if you'll please get off my desk..." He grabbed onto her ankle and tried to pry her down from the desktop. But she wouldn't budge. She laughed very loudly at Flug's weak display of rage. Looking down at him, Dementia spotted another shiny object poking out from underneath her foot. Quickly bending down, she grabbed it before Dr. Flug could protest.

  
"And what's this?" What she now held in her hand looked exactly like the circuit for the shrink ray, except that the wires were crossed a little differently, and many of them were disconnected. Not that Dementia could tell the difference. It looked the same to her. Dr. Flug pinched the bridge of his nose....well, his bag....trying to keep himself calm. But in the presence of Dementia, this was almost impossible. She was the most annoying, irritating, immature, lazy, crazy, insane girl that Dr. Flug had ever had the misfortune of meeting. And one of her favorite past time activities was messing around with him and everything in his lab.

  
Taking a deep, soothing breath so he wouldn't start stuttering, he answered Dementia in the most calm voice that he could muster, "That is the circuit board for the growth ray. Black Hat had me take it out of the shrink ray after what happened to 5.0.5." At the mention of the event, 5.0.5 looked to the floor with an embarrassed look on his face, though the event was not his fault. "Now I'm sure Black Hat will be up at any moment to see the device. So you better give me back that chip or else I'm going to be in a death heap of trouble!" If he had actually thought that Dementia would hand over the chip, he was wrong.

  
Way, way, way wrong.

  
Dementia got a mischievous grin on her face, and Flug knew instantly that he was in major trouble. With a sly flick of her wrists, she flicked both chips up into the air.

  
"Oops, sorry," she falsely apologized, watching with comic joy at the sight of Dr. Flug running around like a chicken with its head cut off, desperately trying to catch the two chips before they fell. Luckily he was able to catch both chips with ease. With a sigh of relief, he thought his troubles were over. Until Dementia decided to jump off his desk and right on top on him. With a loud thump, he hit the cold, tiled floor, loosing his grip on one of the chips. He watched with horror as it skid across the lab floor right underneath a large bookcase filled with blueprints, notebooks, and documents. 5.0.5 ran over to the bookcase, seeing if he could help by getting the chip back for him, but his big, fluffy paws were too big to fit underneath the book case. Then he tried to move the book case, but found that it was attached to the wall.

  
Dr. Flug sighed. "I'm doomed," he muttered. Suddenly, he heard the door to his lab slam open again, and fear struck him like a cold knife.

  
"What is going on in here?!?!!" a deep, scratchy voice bellowed across the laboratory. Dr. Flug tried to scramble up off the floor, but found that Dementia was still sitting on top of him.

  
"Flug and I were just playing," explained Dementia in a child-like tone. Flug could hear the sound of feet scuffling across the floor until they came right up next to him. He turned his head and came face to face with a pair of spats. Titling his eyes up, he saw the rest of the demonic looking man. Black skin and greenish sharp teeth with only one eye looking down at him due to the other one being hid behind a monocle. He was very eccentric looking in his black suit and top hat, giving off the appearance that he was rich. Which he really was.

  
"G..g..good morning, s..sir," stuttered Dr. Flug. Black Hat looked down at him with a displeasing gaze.

  
"Goood morning boss!" exclaimed Dementia. "You woke up pretty late. Out all night partying?" The response given to her was a black gloved hand wrapped tightly around her throat as she was picked up off of Dr. Flug and flung across the room, landing in a heap on top of 5.0.5. "Hey, you could of just said no," she pouted, pulling herself up to her feet. Black hat growled at her for her incompetent attitude.

  
"Dr. Flug, pull yourself off the floor this instant!" he snapped at the young scientist. Dr. Flug quickly rose from his laying position on the floor, knees shaking. He was deathly afraid of his boss. Black Hat was the meanest villain in the whole world.

  
You did not want to make him mad.

  
"S..sorry s..sir," he apologized. "But it is aw..awfully late to be w..waking up. Of course, I just w..woke up not too long ago myself. My alarm had been reset and..."

  
"Shut up you quivering garbage bag!" Black Hat yelled at him, causing the doctor to jump backwards into his desk. "Never mind about that. If you must know, my alarm had been reset as well." He gave an accusing look towards Dementia as she stood in front of 5.0.5 giving off a false persona of innocence. He emitted another low growl from his throat before turning back to Flug.

  
"Do you have the shrink ray finished? The film shoot begins in approximately 15 minutes." Flug shivered so hard he was sure he was shaking the entire desk as he leaned up against it. What could he say? The gun was not ready. And he wasn't even sure if he was holding the right chip in his hand. Which one had slipped underneath the shelf? He couldn't be sure as he didn't have time to inspect the circuits of the one in his hand. His boss was looking at him intently, expecting a "yes" answer.

  
Clearing his throat and trying so hard to still his speech (he failed), he tried to answer Black Hat. "Well sir, y..you see the..uh..the ray is...w..well, uh, the ray is...." He was suddenly jerked off his feet as Black Hat curled his fingers around the collar of his shirt , lifting him off the ground to meet his gaze.

  
"Did I not give you a specific deadline to fulfill? Are you telling to me that you failed to meet this demand?" His grip got tighter, the fire in his eyes meeting the fear in Flug's.

  
"N..no sir. I mean...I'm almost finished." Black Hat threw Flug against his desk, walking slowly towards him.

  
"Then finish it right now. And be quick about it!" Without even bothering to inspect the circuit, Flug did as he was commanded and with the speed of the Flash....wait a minute, he's a super hero! With incredible speed, he secured the circuit board into place, connected a few loose wires to the chip, then screwed on the backing to the gun. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and held up the ray gun for his boss to inspect. He looked over the gun in the scientist's hands intently.

  
"It's finished?"

  
"Y..yes sir. But I still have to test it and maybe..."

  
"No time!" Black Hat interrupted. "We need to start filming right now. Hand over the gun!" Dr. Flug could not believe what he was hearing. Use the gun without even testing it first? What if something went wrong? What if it blew it up or had weird side effects? What if it did nothing?

  
What if he put in the wrong chip?

  
Instead of handing over the gun, Dr. Flug cradled it against his chest. "Sir, I...I can't. I..it must b..be tested first." He could hear Dementia and 5.0.5 gasp in awe at his defiance. Black hat was equally as shocked, as well as Flug. Where had that come from? Did you really just defy his boss?

  
"What was that you said?" he snarled, showing off his sharp teeth as he frowned angrily at the doctor, his eye already starting to glow red.

  
"I said you can't have it." Dr. Flug stood up as straight as he could, calling upon as much courage as he could find within himself. "The consequences of using the ray without first testing it can be catastrophic. It could end up...." Suddenly Black Hat's hand shot out and grabbed the gun, trying to jerk it towards him.

  
"You dare defy me? I said hand it over!" Dr. Flug held onto the gun as tightly as he could while Black Hat tried to yank it away from him. He could hear Dementia talking nonsense in the background.

  
"Oooh, a tug-of-war contest! I'm on Black Hat's team!" But before she could make a move, Dr. Flug gave one last final tug, accidentally pulling the trigger. A blinding blue flash filled the room as the beam struck Black Hat square in the chest. Dr. Flug immediately let go of the gun, letting it crash to the floor, and fell on his knees with his eyes squinted shut. He was trembling all over again.

  
"Sir, I'm so sorry! I..." He opened his eyes...

  
And wished he hadn’t.


	2. Big Trouble for Flug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat gets transformed into a giant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I apologize for my terrible writing.

Dr. Flug looked up and gave a start at what he saw. He expected to see a tiny Black Hat, glaring angrily at him. But once again, he found himself face to face with a pair of black and white spats. Only they were bigger. Much, much bigger. He gulped and tilted his head all the way up. 

His boss was staring angrily down at him, standing very, very tall with his top hat almost touching the ceiling. The shrink ray hadn't shrunk him, it had caused him to grow! And that's when Flug realized that he did have the wrong chip. He tried to back away from his giant, menacing boss, finding his desk was in the way. 

"Flug, what have you done to me?!" he yelled at the poor, trembling scientist standing at his feet. His booming voice scared 5.0.5 and he ran out of the lab, whimpering like a puppy dog. If they had thought Black Hat was terrifying before, he was the devil now. 

"Yeeeeeeeee!" screamed Dementia in a high pitched voice, causing Flug and Black Hat to wince at the frequency. "Giant Black Hat!" With a leap that could have challenged a frog, she latched herself onto his leg, hearts dancing in her eyes. 

"Get off of me!" demanded Black Hat. But Dementia just squeezed his leg tighter, rubbing her cheek against it like an affectionate cat. Black Hat rolled his eyes in annoyance and grabbed Dementia in his fist. 

"Weeee!" she exclaimed as she was lifted up in the air and then suddenly dropped to the ground, landing back on top of poor Flug. 

"I thought I told you to fix the shrink ray," Black Hat angrily scolded. "Not change it into a growth ray!" Flug could feel the sweat underneath his bag. His whole body was trembling! He slowly got back up, not even daring to look his boss in the eye. Instead he stared at his shoes. 

"I..I know. I'm so...so sorry. I do..don't w..what went wrong. I'll fix it. I..I promise," he nervously stammered. "A..and I'll get it right this time." Black Hat scoffed at him, but believed him still. 

"You had better," he warned. "Or else next time I'll consider crushing you!" He stomped his foot for emphasis, causing the entire lab to shake. Flug gulped and nodded his head. 

"Yes sir. B..but could you p..please regain your normal s..size?" He looked up and saw a mischievous, toothy grin on Black's face. 

"Why?" he asked sarcastically. "Do I frighten you in this form?" He loomed over his henchmen, causing a large shadow to befall him. Flug bobbed his head enthusiastically. 

"Y...yes. V..very much. Please shrink back to normal?" With a smirk, Black Hat obliged. Being a demon, he did not have to have a ray to make himself bigger, smaller, or more powerful. He had powers quite unlike anyone has ever seen. Even Flug often wondered about his abilities and origins. So he did not need the use of a shrink ray to turn himself back to normal. 

At least he thought so. 

Flug and Dementia stood there looking up at him, waiting for him to shrink down to his normal size. It should have happened immediately, but after about a minute, he was still a 13 foot tall giant. At first Flug and Dementia didn't give it thought. They thought he was simply taking his time. But when his smug expression turned into one of confusion, they knew something was up. Another minute later, and he still hadn't shrunk down even an inch. His state of confusion turned to anger. 

"B..Black Hat?" spoke Flug. "Are you alright?" 

"Of course I'm alright!!!" he snapped, rather harshly. 

"Then sir, why aren't you back to normal yet?" Black Hat tried to find a reasonable explanation for this. Why wasn't he? What was wrong with him? His powers weren't working, that's for sure. But why they weren't he couldn't answer. 

"I..I don't know," he admitted, his anger quelling back into confusion. "My powers aren't working." Suddenly, he snatched up Dr. Flug in his grasp, holding him up high enough to look him in the eye. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?!?!" 

Flug felt like his heart would give out on him right then and there. This was like something out of his worse nightmare! He was kind of glad to hear that Black Hat's powers were on the fritz, but that didn't matter. He was a giant! The only thing he could find to be thankful for was that he did not grow to be as big as what 5.0.5 got. Then he'd really be in trouble. 

"I..I'm not sure," he quivered. "Perhaps, it was a side effect from the ray." 

"Well you better find a way to fix me!" He shook the helpless scientist in the air, causing him to feel dizzy and nausea.   
"Y..yes sir. But I'll have to ask you to...to stay here in the lab. I need to examine you so I can find out exactly what happened and can take the best course of action to change you back to your normal self. Besides...well, uh...you're too big now to fit through the door." 

Black Hat sighed at his predicament. So much for the commercial. He would have to put it off for later, although he was sure he was disappointing his customers. "Fine," he told Flug. "But you better find a solution fast!" Instead of dropping Dr. Flug like he did to Dementia, he gently set him back on the floor. 

He almost fell, being weak in the knees from his fright. He tried to regain his composure, realizing that Black Hat was not going to harm him. Yet. Unless he could find a way to get his boss back to normal, he was sure he was eventually going to die. He didn't even want to think about being crushed underneath one of his giant feet...or eaten. 

"Don't worry Sir. I'll find an answer to this problem in no time." Picking up the ray gun he had dropped on the floor, he turned to his desk and started to take it apart again. He didn't even notice that Dementia was right next to him, hovering over his shoulder, until she spoke, causing him to jump and almost drop the gun again.

"Is Black Hat going to be like this forever?" she asked. "Cause it actually might be kind of fun." She turned around and gave Black Hat a small, suggestive wink. He recoiled in disgust, realizing the plans she had for him. Why she had an obsession for Black Hat, no one could tell. But she could be very inappropriate about it sometimes. To imagine what went on in her mind every time she saw the boss was like...well, it's better not to think about it. 

"Dementia, stop that!" Dr. Flug urged her, disturbed that she would even think about something like that. 

"Of come on, Flug. Don't be so uptight. " She punched his arm playfully, causing him to wince when she punched too hard. "You have got to admit. He was good looking before, but at this size..." She suddenly stopped short in her speech and let out a small, startled scream. Flug jumped, dropping the ray on his desk. He spun around, thinking Black Hat was going to do something to Dementia, but instead witnessed something even more terrifying. 

Black Hat's hat had been close to touching the ceiling at first, and now it was! He had gotten bigger! And the horrible thing was that he was still growing. Before their very eyes, he all of a sudden grew a few more inches, his top hat being shoved against the ceiling, causing him to have to slightly bend his neck. 

"S..sir?" muttered Flug in astonishment. He felt amazed at what was now happening. Somehow, without even being hit by the ray again, Black Hat continued to grow. He couldn't believe his technology had been able to spawn continuous growth in a person, let alone take away his powers, and he certainly couldn't wait to research it. But he also felt afraid. Was Black Hat going to get any bigger? And if so, just how big was he going to get?


	3. Out of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat grows uncontrollably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys would let me know when I make mistakes, I would really appreciate it. Also, I am open to suggestions.

Apparently this was going to be a  _big_ growth spurt.  

Black Hat suddenly grew another whole foot, banging his head against the ceiling and having to arch his back. He became aware that Flug and Dementia were just watching him as he began to outgrow the room.  

"Don't just stand there you moron. Do something!"  he shouted at Flug. Flug tried desperately to think of something to stop this growth spurt, but without the shrink ray nothing came to mind. He could only watch as his boss grew bigger, hoping not to be squashed.  

At first the growth spurts happened in short bursts, but now he began to grow at a steady pace....without any signs of stopping. Flug and Dementia gazed in awe as Black Hat grew inch by inch. 5.0.5 had come back and poked his head through the door, watching the spectacle as well. With each inch he grew, Black Hat had to arch his back even more to keep from going through the ceiling. And more importantly from crushing his hat. Eventually he got so big that he had to arch his entire back just to be able to stand. He desperately hoped this would be the end of it, but he didn't stop growing.  

Normally he would have relished the experience. But under these circumstances, he felt discomforted, though he would not verbally admit it. This was not the first time he had gotten this big. When he used his powers to cause growth in himself, it felt natural, like the world was getting smaller instead of him getting taller. He didn't feel anything as his body stretched to tremendous proportions. It felt natural. But this...this felt different. This time wasn't like that. It helped when he had been growing very quickly, like 5.0.5 had done when he was hit with the ray. But he was growing at a slow rate. He could actually feel his limbs stretch, his bones lengthening and thickening, the tendons and muscles in his body pulling across the bones with every inch he grew. It all felt very bizarre and unpleasant, even painful...and not the good kind.   

He wished it would stop.  

Flug snapped out of his trance when he felt something nudge his stomach. He felt whatever it was pushing him back. He looked down and noticed Black Hat's foot right up against him, pushing him back as his boss grew into a sky scrapper. All of a sudden Flug realized the situation. Not only the one his boss was in, but also that  _he_  was in. Black Hat wasn't just getting taller, but every part of him seemed to be getting bigger. If he looked down at himself, he probably would have thought he still looked normal, except for the fact that was everything was smaller. But to Flug, he looked to be expanding in all directions. His arms and legs grew longer and wider, and his feet also which now took up a lot of the ground space. His torso seemed stretched and to be expanding outwards, even when it wasn't. His long arms stretched across the room, to where he could  almost touch either side of the lab. His lengthening feet could almost do the same. Eventually Black Hat couldn't bend his back anymore and had to bend his knees instead as he continued to grow. Flug knew that if he and Dementia didn't get out of there quick, they would be crushed. 

Flug had backed up all the way to his desk when he realized it was time to go. "Dementia, I think it might be to our benefit if we left." He waited for a reply, but received none. "Dementia?" He looked to his left where she was originally standing, and saw that she was now on top of Black's Hat foot, hugging his ankle even as he grew. He was surprised that Black Hat hadn't pried her off yet unless he didn't notice or didn't care at the moment.  _Oh, you've got to be kidding me_ , he thought.  

With a huff, he ran over to where she was. As awkward as it seemed to him, he climbed up the side of Black Hat's shoe, with a little difficulty. It is a very hard task to try and climb something that is growing bigger by the second. Especially when you have little arm strength, but somehow he managed to get to the top. Trying very hard to gain and keep his balance, he made his way over to Dementia.  

"Let go, Dementia! We have to go or we will be crushed!"  he exclaimed. She didn't seem to care. She didn't acknowledge him or anything. She remained where she was, wrapped around his ankle.  

_That stupid, crazy girl!_ , Flug thought as he grabbed Dementia by the waist and attempted to remove her. Somehow, he found the strength he needed and was able to remove her from the leg, causing them both to fall off in the process, landing on the tiled floor.  Dementia was able to snap out of it pretty quick after that. Realizing what Flug was saying, she jumped up and ran with him towards the exit. Dodging Black Hat's stamping feet as he shifted his position, they managed to run out the door of the lab, right before Black Hat came crashing down on his bottom. He had crouched down as low as he could, and yet his head still hit the ceiling. He decided to try and sit down, but even then his head dully banged against the ceiling, crushing his hat again. The pains of this excessive growth spurt were becoming unbearable, though he refused to show this to his henchmen. Not to mention he was really starting to feel cramped, the lab becoming smaller and smaller as he grew. There wasn't much room left.  

_When will this_ _accursed_ _growth spurt stop!?!?!_  From the doorway, Flug, Dementia, and 5.0.5 stood silently watching the spectacle. They were all equally amazed at how much Black Hat grew...and was  _still_  growing. Although he hadn't grown as big as what 5.0.5 did (who outgrew the entire house), he was still becoming very big. On second thought, maybe he would be bigger than the house if he stood up. But the only thing they could really see was his legs as they stretched farther.  

Flug started to become concerned for his master. He had never seen anything like this before. How did his invention do this? Sure, he mixed up the circuits, but this still shouldn't have happened. At least not like this. Black Hat was experiencing uncontrollable growth. And there was no telling when it would stop. That is what worried Flug.  

Although Flug was worried about him, Black Hat felt very angry towards him. No, not angry. He felt absolutely enraged! Flug had goofed up before. Many times, actually. But this took the entire cake.  _Curse that imbecile and his infernal device!_  Black Hat could only imagine the ways in which he would kill him. It wouldn't be that bad, but the device had also taken away his eldritch powers.  _Drat! I guess I can't kill him then,_ he mused to himself. With his powers gone he had no choice but to fully rely on Dr. Flug to get him back to normal.  

If he would ever stop growing!  

The pain was becoming more and more unbearable with every inch he grew, as an intolerable burning sensation invaded every part of his body. He to resort from sitting to nearly lying down. His back slid further down the wall as he grew, attempting to keep his head from touching the ceiling. Or more importantly going through it. His feet were pressed against the wall and his hands were at either side of the lab. He was very close to running out of room, his hat only centimeters away from touching the ceiling yet again, when he stopped growing. He blinked in surprise as he suddenly felt his limbs cease their stretching.  

_Finally_ , he thought gratefully.  


	4. Keeping a Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flug wants to study Black Hat in order to turn him back to normal. The only problem is trying to keep the situation a secret from the heroes.

The growth spurt had finally stopped!  

Flug and the others had noticed this and cautiously entered the lab, wanting to get a look at the boss. There almost wasn't even enough room for them in the lab, as Black Hat's body had  taken up almost every available space in the room. He was lying down with his lower back on the floor and his upper back and shoulders resting against the wall. His feet were planted firmly against the wall, the toes of his shoes nearly touching the ceiling. His knees were severely bent, pressing against his chest. His elbows were bent, yet he could still reach both sides of the lab. Dr. Flug couldn't help but give a small whistle. It really was an impressive site.  

Although Black Hat didn't feel that way. His limbs still hurt, despite them not growing anymore. He knew the pain would last for a while. He also felt very cramped, his neck and back already becoming sore. More than anything he wanted to grab Flug in his ginormous hands and crush him. But he couldn't move very well in the tiny room.  

"Sir?" Black Hat snapped his attention down to his side where he saw the tiny forms of his employees staring back up at him. "Are you alright?" Flug asked with genuine concern in his voice. This time Black Hat didn't even pretend like he was.  

"Of course I'm not alright!"  he shouted at the trembling scientist. He somehow managed to move his arm enough to get his gloved hand near Flug. Before he could even react, Black Hat had scooped him up, holding him up towards his face. Poor Flug could only shake violently in his hand as he feared the worst for himself. But to his surprise, Black Hat only sighed. He seemed to be very tired and...in pain? "Flug, listen very carefully," Black Hat spoke softly, his voice strained with what Flug guessed to be either pain or anger. Probably the latter. "If you don't want to end up being crushed to death or worse then I advise you fix that shrink ray NOW!!!!!" Flug nearly fainted.  

"Y..yes s..sir," he stammered. "Bu..but you need to p..put me down first." Black Hat did as requested and put Flug back down on the floor. Out of his master's grasp, Flug carefully made his way to the other side of the room where his desk was at...and gasped in surprise.  

His desk and everything on it was completely destroyed, having been crushed unknowingly by Black Hat sometime during the growth process. Unfortunately that meant the shrink ray along with the growth chip had been destroyed. It would not have mattered if the growth chip got destroyed or not, but seeing as how it somehow took the eldritch's powers, Flug had really needed it to get them back. As for the shrink ray, seeing as how the chip for the shrink ray was also destroyed under the pile of wood from the smashed bookcase, he would have to start all over. And that could take a while. 

"Sir, I...Uh, well..I have some bad news." He gulped as he saw his boss's face seeped in rage. "It appears that the..uh, the shrink ray h..has been.......destroyed." Black Hat could not believe what he was hearing. 

"Are you telling me that I am stuck like this?"  he hissed between his teeth, trying to control his temper. He would have to at this size so as not to kill his cohorts.  

"N..no sir. It's just that.." Flug stopped for a minute to control his breathing, trying his best not to stammer. He spoke his words carefully, "Seeing as how my lab has been destroyed and nearly everything in it....not like it was your fault or anything....I am going to have to purchase new parts to rebuild the shrink ray."  

"And how long will that take?" This was the part Flug was dreading. 

"Well sir, I estimate that it will approximately take about a week to finish the shrink ray." 

"WHAT!?!" Black Hat yelled, causing everyone to cover their ears. His voice was incredibly loud.  

"I'm sorry, but as you well know, some of those parts were imported and will take a while to get back. For now you will have to stay here in my lab." This Black Hat could not tolerate.  

"Stay cramped up in here for an entire week? No!"  he protested. Flug sighed.  

"I suppose you're right. Besides, it would make it awfully hard to study you, seeing the position that you are in."  

"Study me?" Black Hat inquired.  

"Yeah," said Flug, rubbing the back of his neck. "You mentioned how your demon powers are gone. Well, I'm not sure how that happened, but with a little bit of scientific research I'm sure we can get them back. I just have to be able to understand how you work and make sure there are no other side effects." Black Hat did not like the idea of being a scientific subject for Flug's research. Especially with the way he was now. Who knows what Flug was going to do in order to do his research. But if it could get his powers back, he was willing to try anything. 

"Fine," he grunted. "Do what you need to do. But I want out of here!" Flug knew that wouldn't be easy. Black Hat was not going to want to destroy his mansion just to get a little room.  

"That's easy!" exclaimed Dementia. "Just bust down the walls." Black Hat looked as if she just told him the most ridiculous idea in the world.  

"Absolutely not!"  he retorted. "I just had this place rebuilt after what 5.0.5 had done." At this, 5.0.5 tried to hide behind Flug, fearing that Black Hat was still mad about him destroying nearly half the mansion. Not his fault. Flug petted his head to calm him down.  

"You don't have to burst through the house. Just knock out the wall over there." She pointed to the far side of the lab where Black Hat's feet were. "The other side of the wall leads outside." Flug didn't exactly approve of Dementia's suggestion, but it was the only way to get Black Hat out of the house without destroying all of it. Still, a thought happened to come to mind.  

"Hang on a minute. I don't think it'd be a good idea to just walk out in the open with....the way you are. You might attract the attention of the Heroes League." As much as Black Hat hated to admit it, he was right. As the soon as the first few screams rang out, those pesky heroes would be all over him. He didn't know how, but somehow they knew whenever he was up to no good and were always there to try and stop him.  Not that there attempts ever worked. Even as a fighter of one against fifteen, he could take them down pretty easily, and maybe even kill a few in the process. But that wasn't what he was worried about. If the Heroes League got involved, it would attract too much attention and probably prolong Dr. Flug's work. He did not need the heroes trying to interfere at this time.  

"Then what do you suggest?"  

"Stay here while I put some kind of cloaking device around the property." Sensing Black Hat's glare boring into him, he quickly added, "It'll only take an hour at the most." Without even waiting for a response, Flug ran out of the lab to set up the cloak.  

Black Hat didn't even like the thought of spending a measly hour in that lab. His muscles already ached even though it had only been a few minutes. He was very uncomfortable in his position, but he couldn't move enough to get into a comfortable one. He hoped it wouldn't take an hour.  

A slight tug at his pant leg reminded him that there was something even worse about this predicament than just being cramped. He looked down to see Dementia trying to crawl up his leg while 5.0.5 had a hold of her, trying to get her off of him. He sighed irritably.  

Of all the things that could have happened..... 

He had to be stuck with Dementia.  

******************************************************************* 

From the attic at the top of the house, Flug was busy working on the cloaking device. Looking at the clock that hung by a chain on the wall, he noted that 47 minutes had passed. He promised his boss that he'd have it done in an hour. Because of time restraints, this device wasn't going to be the best that he could make, but enough to where it hopefully wouldn't attract the attention of the heroes.  

 _I doubt it_.  

He looked at the blueprints he had roughly sketched. He was very skeptical of the design, certain that it wouldn't keep the suspicion of the heroes away. But with limited resources, he didn't have much to work with. It wasn't anything tacky, just a steel cage that was suppose to engulf the entire property. Yeah, that's not suspicious at all.  

He went over to a control panel he had quickly set up in a corner of the attic and re-organized a few wires, making sure everything was in working order. He didn't want this invention to backfire. After he was done, he checked over the rest of the contraption. All that could be seen from the inside of the attic, besides the control panel, was a thick steel rod protruding from the middle of the attic that extended past the roof. It had a very think metal platform on top it, and gears at the bottom of the rod. Flug was surprised he could build such a contraption in less than an hour.  

Then again, he had some pretty good motivation.  

After checking the gears, he decided it was time to test it. He strode over to the control panel and scanned the different levers and buttons. The operation of the cloaking device was pretty simple, or at least to him, only consisting of two levers and two buttons. The levers were to assemble the cage and disassemble it. The buttons were to control the height and width of the cage. Flug decided to add those just in case.  

He pulled down on a red lever, causing the gears to spin. He raced over to the attic window and peered outside to see if his device was working properly. From atop the house, the thick metal platform began to expand in all directions, adding one panel after another to completely cover the property. Flug was excited when he saw the metal cage come down over the backyard, obscuring his view of the rest of the neighborhood. He sighed in relief that the device had worked. He raced back down to his lab to inform Black Hat that everything was ready.  

******************************************************************** 

Immediately, not even off the stairs yet, he heard an argument being engaged.  A little worried, he exited the stairway and peered around the door of his laboratory. Black Hat had Dementia in his fist, yelling his head off at her while she just smiled at him dreamily. He heard something about Dementia trying to crawl inside his pants, but he decided to ignore that.  

"Black Hat?" Flug called to him, getting the demon's attention. He shifted his attention to Flug, flicking Dementia across the room where she was caught by 5.0.5. "The cloaking device has been engaged sir."  

"It took you long enough," he grumbled. It had almost been a full hour, and his limbs felt stiff from being in a scrunched up position for a long time. He couldn't wait to get out and stretch.  

"Just wait one minute sir." Flug grabbed Dementia and 5.0.5  by the wrist and hauled them out of the way. Once they were safely on the other side of the door frame, Flug gave a thumbs up. Black Hat pushed on the wall with his legs, the wood and plaster giving away easily under his strength. There was now a big, gapping hole in the wall, much to Flug's dismay. He knew he'd have to be the one to fix it. Black Hat carefully positioned himself to where he was on his hands and knees, his back brushing up against the ceiling, and proceeded to crawl out of the lab. Outside he was met with steel walls on every side of the property, boxing him in. The inside of the cage was lit by many florescent lights.  

Immediately once he was outside, he stood up and stretched his sore limbs. It felt good to finally be able to stand and move freely. Several pops emitted from his bones as he shifted them back into place. Flug stepped outside, observing that the cloaking device was working out just fine. He was glad to find out that he made the cage tall enough.  

"So, this is your 'cloaking device'?" Flug rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  

"It was the best I could do in such a short time frame."  

"I suppose it'll have to do," Black Hat muttered, glancing around the steel box.  

"Sir, I'd like to start immediately if you don't mind." Black Hat really didn't feel like being examined right this minute, but the sooner they got started, the sooner he could get back to normal.  

And kill Flug.  

Right at that moment, a low growl filled the air, seeming to be coming from Dr. Flug. "Hold on!"  he heard Dementia say as she poked her head out. "It’s lunch time. Let's get some food!" She grabbed Dr. Flug's arm and pulled him back inside, dragging him and 5.0.5 towards the kitchen. Black Hat, now alone, huffed in annoyance and sat crossed legged on the grass, waiting for Flug to return.  

At least he didn't need to eat.  

********************************************************************* 

In a large white and gold building that stood at the outskirts of the town, the Black Hat manor cloaked in a metal cage was being displayed on an enormous television screen. A young man in a white and blue slim suite was sitting in a blue, upholstered chair, watching the screen intently with interest. He leaned in a bit closer, trying to seeing if anything was going to happen.  

"What are you up to this time, Black Hat?"  he muttered underneath his breath. He pressed a button on a remote that he held in his hands, causing the screen to zoom in on the cage surrounding the house. He watched the screen for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he became very suspicious. Furrowing his brow, he pressed a button on the side of his chair, activating an intercom system.  

"Attention all superheroes of sector D. Report to the main bridge for surveillance duty."  

"Is it Black Hat sir?"  a female voice on the other end of the speaker asked.  

The man rubbed his face tiredly. "Who else would it be?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I couldn't come up with better super hero descriptions. I'm still trying to figure out who they are going to be, so full descriptions and names will be shown in later chapters. And yeah, I still stink at writing and coming up with titles.


	5. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flug begins his studies on Black Hat, coming to an unexpected decision regarding his powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm publishing this at like 2:30 in the morning. If there are mistakes I didn't catch or the writing is bad, I'm sorry. I felt like I had to get something done tonight.

It had seemed like hours to Black Hat since Flug left with Dementia to grab some lunch. He was starting to get really bored waiting on him, and more than a tad impatient. There wasn't much to do being trapped inside a metal box, losing his powers, and not being able to go inside the house.  

 _How long could it take them to eat?_  

Fiddling with his tie, he contemplated on whether he should just yell for Flug to hurry up, or to just sit there and be patient.  

He had already run out of patience. Yelling for him seemed like the best option.  

*********************************************************************** 

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Flug and Dementia were seated at the table, eating fried fish and steamed vegetables that 5.0.5 had made. For a bear with no visible fingers, he was an exceptional cook. He cooked most of their meals, always finding something new for them to try, despite the fact that Black Hat refused to try anything he made. He never really ate much anyway, something they just figured had to do with him being a demon. They were grateful for 5.0.5's skills as a chef, especially since no else in the house but him could cook.  

Fug had barely eaten any of his fish in the past hour, though. He was surprised that, even after he heard his stomach growling, he wasn't that hungry. Putting his fork down, he rested his chin in his hands and allowed his busy mind to wonder. He had too many things on his brain, the biggest one concerning Black Hat's powers. Just what exactly he was going to do about that, he hadn't a clue!  

 _I don't even know where to begin_ , he miserably thought to himself.  _If I kn_ _e_ _w what exactly made his powers disappear, then I might be able to find a way to reverse it. I think it might have had something to do with the_ _shrink..._ _er_ _, growth ray, but I can't be sure since it was_ _destroyed_ _. Perhaps...._  

He was instantly snapped out of his thoughts by the weird noises coming from Dementia. She had stuffed two carrots into her mouth, pretending like they were fangs. Moaning and grunting, she seemed to be imitating a vampire.  

"Flug!"  she moaned, jumping up from her seat at the table and grabbing him by the shoulder. "I want to drink your blood!" She lowered her mouth down to his neck, not actually biting him by acting like she was going to. How cliche.  

"Dementia please stop," said Flug, trying his best to ignore her. Dementia, confused by his behavior, chomped down on her "fangs" and pulled a chair up next to Flug.  

"Awww, come on Flug. What's the matter?" Flug didn't answer, turning his bagged faced away from her. He didn't feel like telling her what was on his mind. She never took anything seriously anyway, so what was the point? Besides, she didn't care about the situation at hand. She wasn't given a death threat.  

"Is it about the boss?" He turned his head and jumped, Dementia having her face incredibly close to his. He hadn't noticed that she had moved closer. Seeing him startled made her laugh a little.  

"Stop scaring me like that!" She just stuck her tongue out at him with an annoyed expression on her face.  

"Lighten up a bit, dude," she whined. "What's gotten you all riled up? Surely not Black Hat."  

 _Is she joking?_  

"Of course it's Black Hat!" He had finally given in to telling her what she wanted to know. "Fixing the shrink ray will be easy, but if I don't find a way to restore his powers, I'm doomed!" He let his head flop down onto the table in agony. This seemed hopeless.  

Dementia pulled his head back up to look at her. "It can't be  _that_  hard. Build another ray thingy that'll zap his powers back."  

"If only it were that simple," he mused. "To be honest, I don't even know where to start in my research. I don't know everything he can do, or even how he does it. What makes him the way he is?" To this, Dementia just shrugged, at a loss for words. She would have answered magic, but she knew Flug didn't believe in that stuff. To him everything that existed could be proven by science. If it couldn't then it didn't exist. Although more than once she heard him admit that he didn't know about the truthfulness of this statement, given their boss.  

 _Maybe I could build a ray_ , he thought with some hope.  _He_ _might not be the same as he was before, but at least it's something_. But to this he shook his head.  _No, no! That won't do at all. If I don't make him exactly the way he was before then I can kiss my sorry life goodbye._  

All of a sudden, a realization came to mind. A small smile curled up underneath the bag on his head.  _But what if he doesn't get his powers back? What if I_ _just pretend to work on it? Then, when I shrink him back to normal, he'll be powerless. Sure he's a demon, but he probably can't be that bad without his powers._  

Once again Dr. Flug's thoughts were interrupted, but this time by a loud, booming voice.  

"FLUG! GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANCE!!!" Everyone in the house was startled out of their skin. The very foundation of the house felt like it was being shaken. Flug and Dementia both flew out of their chairs, ending up sprawled on the floor. They could hear 5.0.5 whimpering in panic down the hall. Rubbing his head, Flug grabbed the edge of the table and pulled himself up. After calming himself down from his near-panic attack, he recognized the voice as Black Hat's. He was just about to turn around and acknowledge his superior, as he thought the voice was coming from inside the room, when he suddenly remembered that Black Hat was outside.  

"You better get out there before he tears the house apart looking for you," spoke a feminine voice behind him. He turned around. Dementia was now on top of the table on her hands and knees, staring down at him. Ignoring her, and getting away before she could jump on him, he raced from the kitchen to his lab. As he ran, one thought circled around in his mind.  _Do not give him back his powers. Just pretend like you are going to. Then he can't hurt you anymore!_   

After a couple of minutes, Flug reached his lab. He could see Black Hat waiting on him through the gaping hole in the wall. "Coming sir!"  he yelled from the lab, quickly gathering up a few materials. Of these he grabbed a jet pack, measuring tape, stethoscope, notebook and pencil, and a syringe. "I have to at least make it look like I'm studying him," he muttered under his breath. Huddling all of these items in his arms, he walked outside and gently put them on the ground.  

"It's about time," Blacked Hat scowled.  

"S..sorry to keep you w..waiting Mr. Black Hat s..sir," stammered Flug. "Shall we begin now?"  

Black Hat sighed. "Let's get this over with." Flug nodded and bent down to retrieve some of the items. He picked up the jetpack and the measuring tape, and strapped the jetpack onto his back.  

"Alright. The first thing I am going to do is measure your height."  

"And what good will that do?" Black Hat interrupted.  

"It's just to see how much you've grown so I can correctly reverse the polarity of the ray, bringing you back to your normal height. Anymore questions?" Black Hat grumbled a "no" and allowed Flug to continue. "I will need you to stand up," Black Hat stood up to his full height, "and remove your shoes and top hat."  

He willingly submitted to the first request, but refused to take off his top hat. "But it'll mess up the results!" Flug complained. "I need to be able to measure you accurately."  Black Hat mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for Flug to hear, and removed his top hat, revealing the smaller hat he wore underneath. "Will you please remove that hat too?"  

"Absolutely not!" Flug winced from the volume of his voice.  

"Fine," he sighed, giving in to his master. "But I can't be sure that the measuring will be accurate." 

"Just make it as close as you can!" Flug was grumbling about how unreasonable Black Hat could be while he busied himself by getting the end of the measuring tape secured to the ground and turning on his jet pack. He made sure the thrusts were working properly before he pressed a button on one of the handles extending from the device, causing him to fly upwards.  

It only took about a minute for him to scale the length of his boss, slowing to a halt when he reached his head. Holding up the measuring tape to where he guessed the top of his head was underneath his hat, he squinted his eyes and peered at the measurement.  

"Hmmm....about 35 feet," he announced. "Not as tall as what 5.0.5 had gotten, but still impressive." He pushed another button on his jet pack, lowering himself to the ground. He put down the measuring tape and picked up the notebook and pencil instead, scribbling down the recorded height. "And how tall were you before?"  

"I was 6 feet and 6.6 inches tall," he answered with a grin.  

Of course, "666".  _Definitely_  a demon.  

Flug also wrote this down before picking up the measuring tape again. He also picked up a different type of measuring tape, one used when tailoring clothes. "If you'll remove your trench coat now, I have a bit more measuring to do." Before Black Hat could ask, he added, "It's to make sure the proportions of your body stay the same."  

Black Hat obliged, but not so willingly this time. He didn't understand how any of this was going to help. After all, Flug didn't need to do this with 5.0.5. He simply zapped the bear with the shrink ray and that was it. He decided not to argue though, letting the doctor carry on with his work.  

The first thing Flug measured was his waist near the abdominal area. Of course, the measuring tape wouldn't extend enough. He had to make some modifications to it by adding several strips of paper with more numbers written down on it. After this was done, he proceeded to record the length of his arms, legs, hands, and feet, as well as the width of his chest and head (tricky due to his hat).  

"I think I am done with this part," said Flug, writing down the last few measurements. Black Hat, relieved that he was  _finally done_ , immediately put back on the articles of clothing he had removed. "Hang on, keep your trench coat off for a minute." Black Hat stopped as he was putting his right arm through the sleeve. Irritated, he took the coat off again.  

"Could you lie down for me?" 

"Why?" Black Hat snapped. 

"Sir, will you please comply?" Black Hat huffed, annoyed with Flug, and lied down on his back. "Thank you." Using the jet pack, Flug maneuvered himself until he was above Black Hat then lowered himself down onto the demon's chest. He took a stethoscope out of one of the pockets of his lab coat, placing the ends into his ears though he did not remove his bag. 

"What are you doing now?" asked Black Hat. 

"I'm just checking your heartbeat, breathing, and vitals, sir," he explained. "You...you do have a heart. Right?" Black Hat rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, Flug, I do. I just choose not to use it." That did not surprise the scientist in the least. Flug moved Black Hat's tie to the side a little and placed the end of the stethoscope against his chest. He could hear the eldritch's heart beat in his ears, loud and with a rhythm that was faster than what it should be for a normal person. 

"Does your heart normally beat so fast?" 

"Don't worry, it's normal," Black Hat dismissed him. Giving a shrug, Flug wrote down the heart rate in his note book. 

"Alright, sir. Breathe in slowly, and exhale." Black Hat did as instructed, though he felt like he was a doctor's patient going through a medical routine. Flug could feel Black Hat's chest slowly rise and fall with each breath as he rose and fell with it. The movement was almost mesmerizing. "You can stop now, sir," he said after a while." His chest became still except for the subtle movement of his normal breathing. Flug got up and started to walk down Black Hat's body until he reached his stomach. He bent down on his knees again and placed the stethoscope against his stomach. "Start breathing again, please." Flug now felt Black Hat's stomach move up and down a bit as he took deep breaths in. He let this go on for about a minute before he removed his stethoscope. "You can stop now, boss," he told Black Hat. "Everything seems to be in working order. I wish I could take your blood pressure, but you're too big for that. I only have one more thing to do and then we should be done." 

"Good, now get off of me!" Flug yelped as Black Hat grabbed him and dropped him on the ground. He got, dusting off his clothes, and feeling a little bruised from the impact. Luckily, he didn't seem to be injured in anyway. He shook it off, though, and went to get his next instrument. 

Black Hat carefully watched Flug as he bent down and picked up a normal sized syringe with a small needle attached. "If you don't mind sir, I'm going to need a blood sample for...uh...testing." He thought Black Hat would refuse, but to his surprise the demon complied, rolling up his sleeve. Flug used the jet pack once again to propel himself upwards, making himself level with his arm. Usually Flug had a little trouble with needles, seeing as how he would usually miss the vein. But he found the operation a lot easier to do on a giant since the vein is much bigger and harder to miss.  

After filling up his syringe with his boss' dark blood, Flug decided that he was officially done collecting information for the day. He was starting to get tired, and wanted to start work on the new shrink ray. He lowered himself to the ground and began to pack up his equipment.  

"Is that it?"  asked Black Hat, putting back on his trench coat.   

"Yep. For today anyway. I'm going to conduct some studies on the information I have been given, analyze the blood sample, and work on the shrink ray a bit."  

"You better have that finished before the week ends," Black Hat threatened him. "Remember, I can crush you like an annoying insect."  

Flug gulped. "Y...yes sir. I'll h..have it done on t..time sir." With the equipment loaded in his arms, the notes and syringe safely in the pocket of his lab coat, he rushed back inside, eager to get away from Black Hat.  

Once he was back inside, a strained breath escaped his lips. He went to a corner of the lab where he thought he was out of view and dumped the jet pack and measuring tapes on the floor. There was a safe on the wall that he used to store important chemicals, equipment, and inventions that he didn't want Dementia getting her hands on.  He typed the combination into the keypad and silently swung the door open. He found a spot in the safe that wasn't cluttered and set the notes and syringe inside. Once the door was shut and properly locked, he trudged over to a cot sitting near the safe and laid himself on it. Looking at the clock, he was surprised at the time.  

"10:06 pm," he muttered, rubbing his tired eyes from under his goggles. He stifled a yawn as he nestled his head into the pillow. He didn't intend to sleep, but he wanted a little break to take time and relax. He felt exhausted, but he still needed to work a little on the shrink ray. He had no idea what he was going to do with the blood he collected. Whether to actually study it or dispose of it somehow, he wasn't sure.  

 _I might just study it out of curiosity,_  he thought as his eyes began to close.  _I might be able to learn a little bit more about him this way._ He started to drift off to sleep, when he heard another tremendous yell, causing him to fall out of bed and onto his face.  

"No sleeping on the job!"  He heard Black Hat shout.  "Get to work on that shrink ray, Flug." Flug was off the floor and running over to his components cabinet faster than you can say "plutonium". Most of what was inside had been smashed when the cabinet had fallen over earlier. He managed to salvage a few pieces though, taking them over to the middle of room where he sat down with the modified blueprints and began to work on his project.  

 _To think, soon I won't have to worry about Black Hat anymore,_ he thought as his motivation to keep himself from wanting to fall asleep.  _He won't be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again._  

He heard someone snoring not so softly outside. Turning his head around, he saw Black Hat laying on the lawn, his hat tipped over his eyes, fast asleep. Flug cringed at the snoring sound.  

 _And once this shrink ray is done, I won't have to deal with_ ** _that_** _!_   


	6. Busted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Hat experiences yet another growth spurt, gathering the attention of the heroes.

Time had flown by so quickly.  

Dr. Flug was hovering in the air with his jetpack, holding the measuring tape up towards Black Hat's head to measure his height again.  

He shook his head as he saw the number on the tape. "You're now up to 45 feet, sir." Flug couldn't believe it. Four days had passed since he accidentally shot Black Hat with the "shrink" ray, and yet he still continued to grow. Although not at all major like the growth spurt on the first day, in those four days Black Hat had grown another ten feet.  

It made him glad that he built the cage to be adjustable. It was originally as tall as the house, but Flug had to adjust it for Black Hat since he was now a little taller than the house. By about 5 feet, precisely.  

It was a little unnerving for him, if only because his boss was becoming impatient with how long his work was taking. Over the past few days, he was constantly complaining about the ache he felt in his limbs, or how bored he was. 

Or how Dementia kept crawling all over him in his sleep.   

He tried ordering Flug to hurry up with the shrink ray, but the rest of the parts wouldn't be there till that afternoon. In the meantime he had been working on the circuit board for the ray while also doing a little studying on the blood sample he received. He didn't tell the demon that he wasn't even done with the circuit though. He was afraid he would be furious.  

Although he noticed Black Hat was becoming suspicious with him. Since he took the blood sample, he hadn't done anything more with his research on his powers. Black Hat persistently asked questions on his progress, in which Flug either lied about his progress or answered his questions vaguely. He was sure his boss could tell he was lying. It was extremely hard to keep a secret from Black Hat. You had to be the greatest liar in the world to keep something from him; he seemed to know it all. He wondered if the eldritch suspected what he was up to.  

In case he did, Flug decided it was time to proceed with his "research". The only problem was he couldn't really think of how to proceed. Besides taking a blood sample, what else could he do? Take a sample of saliva? Skin, tissue, muscle? Black Hat would definitely question why that was necessary. He decided his best solution was to just ask him about his powers. He could find out everything Black Hat was capable of, and how he was able to do it. Or even how he had obtained those powers.  

After recording the rest of the measurements, he sat down in a lawn chair he had dragged outside, a notebook and pencil in hand.  

"If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to ask you a few questions concerning your powers." 

"Such as?"  

While writing the question down, Flug asked, "Can you list all of your powers?"  

Black Hat cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you already know? I use them around you everyday."  

"As far as I know, those are only your basic abilities. I want to know  _everything_  you are capable of."  

Black Hat was silent for a moment, as if contemplating the question which only confused Flug. He was just about to ask if Black Hat would comply with the request, when he finally made up his mind.  

"Fine," he grunted. "But you are not to share this information with anyone, including Dementia and 5.0.5. I have a feeling you will be wanting to know a little more than just what I can do." Flug didn't answer or acknowledge the statement. He assumed that Black Hat already knew the other questions he was going to be asked. Instead he wrote fervently as Black Hat listed all his powers.  

There were quite a bit.  

Among Black Hat's many abilities were shapeshifting, lazer eyes, size transition, telekinesis, being able to manipulate shadows, teleportation, slight super strength, telepathy, draining the energy from his opponents, being able to open up portals to terrifying dimensions, substance phasing, camouflage, possession, minor talents in pyrokinesis, make objects appear out of thin air, immortality (not really a power), and other various abilities that require the use of magic.  

Flug was a bit skeptic on the "magic" part, but he didn't feel like bringing this up with his boss.  

After Black Hat had finished, Flug put down his pencil and scanned through the list to make sure he didn't leave anything out. Satisfied with the information, he decided to move on to the next question.  

"Now, can you explain how you are able to do these things?"  

Black Hat stared at him with a questioning look. "Flug, I'm a demon. That should be enough said."  

Flug crossed his arms, annoyed with his boss. He knew  _that_. Couldn't he find a way to explain the physical mechanics behind his unnatural abilities?  

Apparently not.  

Flug thought about prying him to give some kind of decent explanation, but decided to skip ahead to the next question. No point in getting Black Hat mad at him. This was just for show anyway.  

Deciding he would ask the question again later, Flug moved on to his final question. "Last question then: how did you obtain your powers?"  

Black Hat smirked at the ridiculous question. Was he being serious?  

"I was born with them," he answered dismissively. 

Flug raised an eyebrow in question. "You've just always had them? Your whole life?"  

"Yes!" Black Hat yelled at him, annoyed at being integrated. "That's my answer! What more are you expecting?"  

Flug shrugged his shoulders. "I just thought there would be more to it. Especially since you don't want me to pass this information along to anyone else."  

Black Hat muttered something under his breath, but Flug couldn't make out what he said. After a few moments of silence, Flug decided to ask again.  

"Alright then. Let's go back to the previous question. How are you able to use your abilities?"  

Before Black Hat could reply, they heard the sound of a vehicle approaching the house followed by a knocking on the steel cage.  

"That must be the parts," said Flug, jumping up from his seat and running around to the front of the house. Upon arriving at the front entrance, he pushed a series of colorful buttons from a panel located on the wall, causing a door to slide open.  

On the other side of the door was a stout, older gentleman wearing a brown suit and hat. He held in his hands a small box and a clipboard. "Is this Black Hat Co.?"  he asked peering closely at his clipboard.  

"Yes," Flug replied, snatching the box and clipboard from the delivery man. He scribbled his signature on the clipboard while the man gazed with curiosity at the metal cage surrounding the house. A loud thump came from the back of the house, resounding off the metal.  

"What was that?  the delivery man inquired, trying to peer around Flug to see the source of the noise.  

"Uhh... nothing," said Flug, shoving the clipboard back into the man's hands. "Thank you," he added before frantically pressing a series of buttons, causing the door to slide shut again.  

 _Bad timing_ , he thought as he turned around to see what made the noise. He didn't need to run back around the house to see the source of the noise. He could see it over the top of the house. Black Hat had hit his head on the ceiling again in a sudden growth spurt, knocking out some of the fluorescent lights. It had obviously been a bigger growth spurt this time, as his back was bent quite a bit.  

"Flug, go inside and adjust this stupid thing!" Black Hat demanded.  

"Y..yes sir." Carrying the box under one arm, Flug ran inside the house. He put the box down on a table in the living room and ran straight up the stairs to the attic. But before he could even open the door, something heavy jumped onto his back, latching their arms around his neck. By the feminine giggling, he could tell who it was.  

"Dementia! What are you doing?"  he asked, trying to pry the psychotic girl off him.  

"What are  _you doing_?"  she repeated. She reached over his shoulder in an attempt to grab the handle to the door, but Flug grabbed it before she could.  

"No, you're not allowed in here. You'll break something." She was usually one of the reasons why his inventions seemed to go wrong.  

She rolled her eyes and let go of him. "Fine, I'll just leave then." With that she began to walk away, much Flug's surprise. She wasn't usually that easy to persuade. He didn't think about it too much though as he swung the door open. He was just about to step inside when he was all of a sudden knocked to the floor and trampled over by someone.  

He felt pain shoot up his spine as he lifted himself off the floor to see Dementia at the control panel for the cage. A horrible thought of what she was going to do swam through his mind.  

"Please, don't touch anything!"  he begged, much to her pleasure.  

"What do these buttons and levers do?"  Before Flug could say anything, she grabbed one of the levers and pulled it down hard. Flug gave a startled shout as the roof to the cage came crashing down into the attic, smashing part of the pole that was supporting it. Flug covered his head with his arms as pieces of wood and metal came raining down on them.  Realizing what she had done, Dementia quickly pulled the lever back to its original position, stopping the cage from shrinking.  

Both of them looked up, brushing off the pieces of wood and metal that had landed on them, to see the damage that his machine had caused. Almost the entire ceiling was gone, replacing it with the metal one, bright lights shining down on them.  

"Dementia, what have you done?!" Flug yelled furiously at her.  

To his aggravation, she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I made the roof come down," she said as if she were proud of her mischievous deed. "Sorry."  

Flug was surprised that he wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and strangle her right then. He was very angry with her. But judging by the yelp he heard outside when the ceiling collapsed, he guessed that someone was angry with him too.  

More so than what he felt towards Dementia.  

"FLUG!"  he heard a loud, furious voice shout, causing him and Dementia to cover their ears. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?!"  

Trembling, Flug slowly walked over to the window, poking his head out a little so Black Hat could hear his response. "S..sorry sir!"  he stuttered. "I..I'll fix i ...it." Flug dashed to the control panel, pushing Dementia out of the way. He pushed up one of the levers causing the ceiling to slowly rise back up. He was relieved to that his machine still worked. He was afraid Dementia might have broken it.  

Course, he spoke too soon.  

The ceiling to the metal cage hadn't even risen all the way out of the attic when all of a sudden stopped. Confused, Flug tried pulling the lever up and down to get the cage working on again.   

"Here, let me help," Dementia offered. Flug looked up and was able to move out of the way in time before she landed a good kick to the control panel, putting a huge dent in it. The control panel started sparking and smoking before it fizzled out. Flug, in a panic, pulled on the levers and pushed the buttons in an attempt to get it working. But it was too late. Dementia had once again destroyed another invention.  

Flug was furious with her. He could feel his face growing hot as he tried to yell at her, but found he was speechless. Instead he tried to grab her, but she was able to move away, crawling up the wall and onto the ceiling to avoid him.  

"Hey, I didn't mean to break your toy," she giggled. "I was only trying to...oof!" The house shook for a second, causing Dementia to fall from the ceiling and land on the wooden floor below. Despite being mad at her, Flug helped her up.  

"What was that?"  she asked, brushing herself off.  

"I don't know. Maybe...." He was cut off as the house shook again, this time more forcefully. It felt like something was crashing against the house.  Having fallen to the floor, Flug and Dementia picked themselves up. They heard a whimpering coming from down the hall, followed by the appearance of 5.0.5 in the door frame. He looked worried and a little scared. Of what though, Flug had no idea.  

"What's the matter 5.0.5?" Flug gently asked the bear. Another rumble shook the house, causing the blue bear to whimper louder. "Is that what's scaring you?"  

He nodded his head. 5.0.5 tried to tell him something, but it came out as unintelligible bear noises. Flug was trying to understand what he was saying as he started pointing a paw at the far side of the house, waving frantically. The house jolted again, but this time Flug could make out the unmistakable sound of cracking wood and plaster. Then he understood.  

"Oh shoot, we have to get out of here!" Flug grabbed Dementia by the wrist, despite her protesting, and 5.0.5 and started to run down the stairs, racing to the front door. Behind him, Flug could hear more crashing noises, getting closer by the second. With little time to spare, they made it to the front door. Flug quickly opened it and pushed Dementia and 5.0.5 out. He was just about to exit after them when he remembered something.  

"The shrink ray parts!"  he exclaimed, suddenly remembering that he had left them in the living room. He could still hear the cracking and crashing noises getting closer, but he didn't care as he raced in the living room and grabbed the box. Holding it close to his chest, he ran back to the front entrance, the noises now very close behind him. He didn't look behind him as he ran out the door as fast as he could, colliding with 5.0.5 and Dementia. All three tumbled to the ground, rolling until they hit the black fence that surrounded the house.  

Flug groaned and rubbed his head, feeling a little disoriented. He felt pain in every part of his body from the impact and felt like just lying where he was on the ground. It was Dementia's surprised gasp hat caused him to look up. He had already suspected where the noises were coming from and he was right.  

Unfortunately.  

 _Not this again_ , thought Flug as he saw that Black Hat was growing again, unbeknownst that Black Hat was thinking the same thing. He was on his knees, his back pressed against the ceiling. He groaned as the growing pains returned to his limbs. He was much, much taller than the house now, and slowly getting bigger. The crashing noises they heard was the house being pushed by Black Hat's growing frame. His side was pushed up against it, pushing it back as he grew. The house was mostly destroyed, and with one last growth spurt it was completely demolished.  

So much for trying  _not to destroy the house_.  

Black Hat grunted as he felt more and more enclosed. He had enough room in the box to lie down, but he was so squished in between the ground and the ceiling that he couldn't shift his position. When he decided that he couldn't bend his back anymore without breaking it, he placed one hand on the ceiling and one on the wall nearest to him and pushed with all his might. The panels gave way easily, crashing with a loud boom on top of a couple of houses. Without any support, the other three walls came crashing down as well, crushing a few more houses underneath them.  

Secretly, Flug and 5.0.5 hoped that there was no one in those houses.  

Without any restraints, Black Hat was able to grow freely now. He grew a few more feet before finally stopping, the pain in his body lingering still. Flug, Dementia, and 5.0.5 stared up at him in shock, having to crane their necks almost all the way back just to be able to see his face.  

Black Hat was equally as shocked at how big he was now. He was about twice as big as the house was. Although it didn't really bother him. The only thing that bothered him besides the burning pain in his limbs was the fact that he had accidentally destroyed his own home.  He was mad with himself about it and decided he'd have Flug fix it later.  

Flug already figured that he'd have to be the one to fix the mansion, but that's not what bothered him. The metal cage, the only cloaking device they had to hide their secret, was now gone. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he wondered if, at any moment, the heroes would show up to try and fight Black Hat.  

He was hoping they wouldn't, but he knew it was false hope.  

*********************************************************************** 

All of the heroes of Sector D present in the surveillance room were shocked at what they saw on their monitors. "What in the name of justice?!"  exclaimed Captain Tecton, the leader of the Hero League, as he gazed at the jumbo screen sitting on the wall in front of him. He was surprised to see an enormous Black Hat come crashing out of the confinements of the steel cage.  

And it appeared that he had already done some damage, seeing the metal walls crushing some of the nearby houses.  

He opened up a compartment in the arm of his blue chair and pushed a big, red button. Flashing red lights and loud sirens wailed throughout the building, startling the rest of the heroes. He pushed another button which activated a microphone.  

"Attention all superheroes," he spoke in a very serious tone. "This is an emergency. We have Black Hat causing trouble again... BIG trouble actually. I need sectors A, B, and C to evacuate the citizens of Hatsville immediately. We need to do this efficiently and very quickly so nobody gets hurt." Having finished his announcement, he turned to the rest of the superheroes in the room. "Heroes of Sector D, you will come with me. We will lead an attack against Black Hat, hopefully stopping him in his tracks before he can cause anymore destruction." Captain Tecton looked around the room at the faces of his comrades. Some of them looked excited. Some looked nervous. And some looked scared.  

"Uh...sir?" Captain Tecton turned his attention to a small young man, looking to be no more than 16 years old, with blonde hair and a yellow suit covered in red zigzags. "Black Hat has never been defeated before."  

"This is true," he replied in a low voice.  

"Then why are we going to fight against him? This is a suicide mission!" Captain Tecton slowly walked up to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort.  

"Because we are the heroes of the world. It is our job to fight against evil, and we are Hatsville's only defenders. We must try."  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you to all my readers who have been following the story so far. I thought nobody would like my idea, but I guess I was wrong. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's time for some hero action!


	7. The Trouble Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly the beginning of the hero vs. villains fight that will officially begin in the next chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took me so long to update. To be honest, this is my first Villainous fanfiction. And my first one using super heroes. I had a lot of trouble with writing this, as I had a hard time trying to write about the heroes. You would not believe how many edits I had to make! Although it still isn't perfect, I think it's better than nothing. 
> 
> Don't be surprised if the next couple of chapters move in slowly. I will also be starting school soon which will take time out of my writing, but eventually I will update it.

After the growth spurt had stopped, Black Hat stood for a few minutes on his knees, waiting for the pain in his legs to go away while rubbing his arms in an attempt to soothe the pain in them. That last growth spurt had been really painful, especially with the way he had been cramped inside the box. His neck and back felt sore, his arms and legs felt stiff, and all over his body was a numb burning sensation that wouldn't go away. He tried to ignore it though, thinking only about how glad he was that the stupid cage was gone. Unlike Flug, he didn't care if the cloaking device was now destroyed. He was glad to be no longer confined.   

When the pain had subsided enough to become bearable, he decided to try and stand. Slowly, he got to his feet, holding out his arms to try and steady himself. He found that his legs had partially fallen asleep and were stiff, making him sway a bit and struggle to keep his balance. Not that the terrain he was standing on made it any easier. He had one foot partially on his own hilled property and the other where the neighbor's house use to be. He moved his left foot to the side a bit, trying to shift his position.  

As he did so, he heard a small crunch beneath his foot. Following was the high-pitched screeching of car tires skidding across the road. He heard a shrill scream before he felt something hit the side of his shoe. He looked down and saw that he had accidently crushed part of the fencing around his house, the toe of his shoe spanning across the road that circled his house. Smashed against his shoe was a red convertible, the young driver and his female passenger sitting slumped in the car with a look of bewilderment on their faces. They seemed to have not sustained any major injuries though. The driver blinked a few times before finally realizing what he hit, much to his confusion. He tilted his head back and saw a giant demon looking man staring back down at him. Without a moment to lose, he slipped out of his seat belt and bolted from the car. A scream coming from his totaled vehicle reminded him that he left his girlfriend inside. He quickly dragged her from the car and they both bolted off, yelling their heads off as they ran. 

Black Hat chuckled a little to himself, finding their fear hilarious. He moved the toe of his shoe over the severely dented car, smashing its remains with a loud crunch of metal and glass. A tiny shout brought his attention away from the small amount of destruction he caused. He turned around, scanning the ground for the source of the noise.  

From the ground, Flug had witnessed the car crash with horror. He was truly terrified of Black Hat's height, especially with all the destruction he could cause. Just watching him crush the convertible made his heart skip a beat. What if he decided to destroy the city or something? Flug felt like if that happened he would be responsible for any deaths caused by the rampage.  

"Sir!"  he shouted, trying to get his boss' attention. Black Hat seemed to have heard his voice, as he turned around. But to Flug's dismay, he didn't seem to have seen them. With lightning reflexes, Flug pushed Dementia and 5.0.5 several feet away on the ground, narrowly avoiding the impact of Black Hat's foot.  

Flug lay on the ground with the other two for a couple minutes, trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate. "Th..that was a c..close call," he gasped as he stood up and brushed off some dirt on his lab coat. "You two alright?"  he asked, turning towards Dementia and 5.0.5. 5.0.5 was trembling and whimpering. His eyes were puffy as if he were about to cry. That must have gotten the poor bear really shaken up. Dementia cuddled up next to him, petting his blue fur in an attempt to get him to calm down.  

"Y..yeah," said Dementia, a little shaken herself. "I can't believe it. He didn't even see us!" From the looks of it to Flug, he still hadn't seen them as he continued to search along the ground for them. Black Hat turned a little to the side, the other three ducking their heads as he swung his foot right over them.  

Quickly getting back up, Flug cupped his hands around where his mouth was under his bag. "Black Hat!"  he shouted at the top of his lungs, waving his arms frantically in a desperate attempt to get the attention of his boss before he really did crush them. He had to shout a few more times before Black Hat finally noticed him.  

"Flug?" He carefully turned around so as not to step on them, and looking down he saw Flug wildly waving his arms and Dementia and 5.0.5 huddled together, shaking.  The tiny scientist was shouting something, but Black Hat couldn't hear him very well, being so high up. Flug took notice of this, seeing his confused expression, and motioned for him to bend down. Instead of heading his order, Black Hat bent down and scooped the three of them up in his enormous hand. To the dismay of Flug and 5.0.5, they were lifted high up off the ground. Dementia seemed to think it was fun as she was laughing. Black Hat lifted them towards his face so he could hear them better, allowing them to rest in the palm of his gloved hand.  

"What?"  the giant eldritch hissed, trying to make his voice quieter. He knew it would probably be booming now that he was ginormous.  

Flug was shaking badly out of fear. 5.0.5 had his paws over his eyes, making frightened bear grunts. And Dementia was tightly hugging Black Hat's middle finger. But none of them answered the question. Flug felt like someone had removed his tongue, and that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't speak. He kept envisioning that at any moment his boss would crush them in his big hand.  

"What?"  he asked again, his voice a little louder and harsh. Flug knew he was growing impatient, which meant he had better give him an answer.  

"I...I..." Flug stammered, trying to find his voice. "I was j...just saying that y..you have to be more c..c..careful."  

"Why?"  he asked annoyed. Flug started to sweat a little out of nervousness.  

"Because s..sir, you could r...really hurt someone." Before Black Hat could ridicule or scorn him for such a thought, he quickly added, "And you don't want to attract the attention of the Heroes League."  

"Pffft, too late for that," said Dementia, pointing towards all the damage that Black Hat had caused. "I doubt that they missed any of this. Besides, how can you miss a 100ft tall demon?" Flug considered this for a moment, looking from the giant demon to the ground below.  

"Actually, I don't think he's 100ft tall. Judging from the height of the house, if it were still there, to Black Hat's current height, I'd say he's roughly around 80ft tall." Dementia face palmed herself, wanting to ridicule Flug for his "smarty pants" talk. She may be insane, but even she realized he had totally missed the point. Then her words suddenly dawned on him, hitting him like the convertible that crashed into Black Hat.  

"Oh man, you're right!"  he exclaimed, gripping the edges of his bag in near panic. "And without my cloaking device, there's nothing keeping them out. What are we going to do?"  

There was nothing they could do. It was too late.  

5.0.5 uncovered his eyes a little to see what was happening, when he saw something flying up behind Black Hat. The bear waved his arms and pointed over Black Hat's shoulder, hollering at him to look behind him, but being unable to speak actual human language, it came out as bear grunts and growls.  

Before Black Hat could register 5.0.5's warning, he felt something hit him in the back of the head, leaving behind a small stinging pain. Rubbing the back of his head, he turned around in an attempt to see his attacker. But to his confusion, he didn't see anything. He felt another small jab, this time coming from his left ankle. Then in the middle of his back, and another on his right arm. He turned around and around, trying to get a good look at whoever was attacking him.  

Flug and the others were very confused as to what was going on. "Sir, are you ok?"  asked Flug. But then out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. A woman in a bright red jumpsuit with flame colored boots and gloves was being flown through the air by another women looking very identical to her, except that her outfit consisted of blue and white. The woman in blue flew very close to Black Hat's shoulder, close enough for the lady in red to brush her fingers up against the fabric of his suit, instantly igniting his shoulder in flames.  _Great! The heroes found out!,_  thought Flug with panic. He watched as they quickly flew off unnoticed by the giant eldritch. 

Black Hat noticed a very warm feeling on his shoulder and was surprised to see that his suit was on fire. He instantly tried to pat the fire out, accidently dropping his tiny employees. They all screamed as they fell through the air towards the ground. Flug screwed his eyes shut, holding the bag on his head for dear life. He thought he was going to die. They weren't falling for long, however, when something grabbed them, gently lowering them and setting them on the ground a safe distance away from the giant Black Hat. But before Flug could even see who it was that had saved them, someone grabbed both his arms and twisted them behind his back. He felt a pair of metal cuffs being slapped tightly around his wrists. He tried pulling on his restraint, trying to slip his hands out of the cuffs, but it was no use. A hand suddenly shot out in front of him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him off his feet.  

He was being held by a young man with dark hair and a very strong build. He wore a slim, blue suit with a white cape, white boots, and the yellow insignia of the Heroes League (just a picture of the Earth with the acromion HLA in gold letters circling it) printed on his chest. He appeared to be a very kind and just man, but still intimidating, especially with his glowing gold eyes.  

"So this is his evil scheme?"  asked Captain Tecton, his voice deep and seeping with authority. "Turning himself into a giant to destroy Hatsville?"  

"Well, uh...uhhh..." Flug's tongue was tied again. He sweated nervously, staring into the intimidating eyes of the hero that held him. Either way, he was sure to be going to prison...probably for a  _very long time_...but he didn't want to tell this man the truth. He didn't want them knowing that it was fault.  

As if she had read his mind, Flug suddenly heard Dementia yell, "Flug did it! It's his fault!" He turned his head to the side to see Dementia and 5.0.5 tied up back-to-back, the twin heroes that had caught Black Hat on fire standing on either side of them.  

"Your fault? What did you do, Flug?"  asked the hero, pulling the scared scientist closer to his face.  

Flug was shaking in the hero's grasp. "Well, uh, you remember that shrink ray we advertised about a month ago, right?" The captain grimaced at the memory of it.  

"Yes, I do. What about it?" 

Taking a big gulp, Flug continued. "You see, Black Hat wanted me to do work on some modifications for it. Except I couldn't make the deadline he requested. He got mad at me and tried to take the shrink ray away, even though it needed to be tested first. I yanked it back, but I accidentally pulled the trigger in the process. The ray hit him and instead of making him small.....well, this happened." Flug nodded his head toward Black Hat, the hero turning to look as well. Now that Flug was on the ground, he could clearly see that there were about 20 superheroes surrounding the humongous demon. Some were in the air, trying to avoid being swatted at like flies. The others were fighting from the ground, getting out of the way just in time before Black Hat stomped on them.  

Captain Tecton turned back to Flug, a scowl masking his handsome face. "So it was your device that did this?" Flug slowly nodded, averting the captain's gaze.  

"Y...yes, sir," he stammered. "B..but I have been w..working on another sh..shrink ray. A..and I'm almost f...finished." The hero solemnly shook his head.  

"With his powers, a little shrink ray won't do much to stop him from becoming big again," Tecton smirked.  

"Actually sir, Black Hat doesn't have his powers." Captain Tecton stood silent for a couple seconds before his eyes became wide, his mouth hanging open in surprise.  

"You're kidding?" He loosened his grip on Flug's shirt a little and slightly lowered him, his feet just hanging about an inch over the ground.  

"It's true! When I hit him with my ray, something happened that nulled his powers. I'm not sure what, I was doing research on it." The hero ran a hand through his hair, looking from Flug to Black Hat, incredulous. He turned his attention back to Flug, and slightly chuckled.  

"Well, that'll make it a little easier to stop him," said the hero with a small smile. "But still, his height is going to be a  _big_  problem. We can't have him getting anywhere near the city." Just at that moment, they heard a loud shout in the distance, speedily approaching them. The shouting caught Black Hat's attention, causing him to notice the heroes that had captured his minions. He was just about to grab the heroes and squish them in his huge hands, when a young man, probably a teenager from how young he looked, wearing a yellow suite with red zigzag patterns, ran up to the hero holding Flug with incredible super speed. The boy was shouting incredibly loud, looking to be very flustered. Black Hat stood there and tried to listen to the conversation, swatting at the annoying little heroes that still buzzed around him.   

The teenage hero stopped his shouting as soon as he approached Captain Tecton and Dr. Flug, hands on his knees and breathing hard. "Sir...sir we've...we've," he gasped as he tried to catch his breath after all the running he did.  

"Yes Turbo, what is it? Was the evacuation successful?" The boy huffed a few more time before answering his superior. 

"Sir, we've only got about half the city evacuated." Captain Tecton looked exasperated.  

"You mean that even after putting nearly all our heroes on evacuation duty, there are still civilians left?" The boy known as Turbo nodded his head.  

"Yes sir. There are many families and businessmen that do not wish to leave behind their possessions. And many have nowhere to go. We have been trying to evacuate the people as orderly as we can, but they are too panicked to listen! What do we do sir?" Captain Tecton scratched his chin in thought, setting Flug down beside him, but not letting go of him.  

"Go back and finish the evacuation. We'll keep Black Hat distracted for as long as we can. No matter what, we cannot allow him to destroy Hatsville!" Suddenly, the area around them became dark, confusing the group. 

"Is that so?" They all quickly turned around, looking up towards the voice. Black Hat was looming over them, a devilish grin spread across his face. Without warning, his foot suddenly came down upon them. Flug screwed his eyes shut, thinking that he was going to be crushed.  

But the blow never came.  

Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw a yellow sphere surrounding them, Black Hat's foot resting on top of it. Captain Tecton had his hand raised above his head, the look of concentration on his face indicating to Flug that he was the one generating the force field.  

As his foot came down, he felt something hard come in contact with it, leaving behind a slight tingling sensation. Perplexed, Black Hat lifted his foot away to see that one of the heroes had generated a force field. He growled and slammed his fist down on top of it. The strength of the impact from the hit was too much for Captain Tecton to sustain the field. The force field immediately disappeared, leaving the hero collapsed on the ground. Flug had been thrown to the ground from the impact, landing on his back. He felt a twinge of pain in his hands as he landed on top of them, but decided to ignore it. He quickly scrambled to his feet, backing away from the captain and Black Hat. He noticed the Turbo kid had vanished.  _Probably was too scared to fight_ , he thought with a smirk.  

His attention was brought back to the scene as he saw the two heroes that were guarding Dementia and 5.0.5  jump in front of the fallen Captain Tecton in an effort to protect him. They didn't get to put up much of a fight, however, as they were instantly smacked away by Black Hat like a couple of helpless insects. Flug backed away even more as Black Hat reached down and grabbed Captain Tecton off the ground, watching the hero squirm in his grasp.  

"Hello there, captain," he greeted the small hero with a tip of his hat. He struggled in Black Hat's grasp, trying to free himself.  

"Put me down, you villain, or else I'll..."  

"Or else what?" Black Hat tightened his grip on the hero, causing him to grunt in pain from the pressure. He started wheezing, the air being cut off from his lungs as they were slowly being crushed. "You know, I wasn't even thinking about destroying your little town? But now that you mentioned it, the idea doesn't sound half bad. In fact it sounds like  _fun_." The hero stopped his writhing, looking at Black Hat's malicious smile with horror.  

"You..you can't. We'll....stop..." He was cut off as Black Hat squeezed the hero even more.  

"I'd like to see you try," he whispered in a low voice. He threw the weakened captain over his shoulder, starting to walk off towards the city. Flug jumped out of the way as Black Hat's foot landed near him, the demon taking no notice in him. He watched for a few seconds, with a sinking heart, as his boss causally walked towards the city, each step he took making the ground shake like an earthquake.  

Flug shook his head, thinking about all the deaths that could ensue, knowing that he had a part in it.  _This is all my fault_ , he thought to himself. He may have been working for a supervillain, but he knew he wasn't a bad guy. He certainly did not want to see innocent people die because of his stupid mistake.  _What am I going to do?_  

A pair of hands grabbing his wrists brought him out of his thoughts. He heard a small click as one of the cuffs fell away from his hand, the other doing so a few seconds after. He rubbed his sore wrists as he turned around to see Captain Tecton standing behind him with the cuffs in his hand. He appeared to be alright, except for the fact that he was clutching his abdomen, his face contorted in pain. Before Flug had a chance to say anything, a small box was roughly shoved into his hands, much to the scientist's confusion. Captain Tecton grabbed Flug by the collar of his shirt again, dragging the smaller man towards him.  

"Listen, Flug. I need you to hurry up and finish that shrink ray. The fate of Hatsville depends on it." Flug slowly nodded and was shoved away from the hero. Captain Tecton turned towards his comrades as they assembled around him, awaiting his orders. "Alright troop, let's move out. We must stop Black Hat  _at all costs."_ They all nodded in agreement, taking off after the dastardly villain, leaving Flug all alone.  

"Hey what about us?" Flug turned around at the sound of the muffled feminine voice. Dementia and 5.0.5 were struggling against their bonds, the lizard girl trying to chew through one of the ropes. Flug sighed as he ran over to untie them. "So, we're teaming up with the good guys?"  she asked as Flug finished untying the knot, the rope falling away.  

"I guess so. What other choice do we have?" He picked up the box with the shrink ray parts in it and started to unpack them. Then he froze.  

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!"  he suddenly screamed, surprising both Dementia and 5.0.5. "The chip! The chip, I left in it in my lab!" He didn't even bother to explain himself to the others as he grabbed the box and sprinted towards the demolished house. He headed straight for the back of the house where his lab used to be, his mind racing with worrying thoughts as his heart pounded louder and louder in his chest. If that chip, the circuit board he needed for the shrink ray to work, if it got destroyed along with everything else in the house, then he would absolutely die along with everyone else in Hatsville.  

When he made it to the spot where his lab used to stand, he put down the box and scrambled through the wreckage. He turned over every piece of ceiling tile, plaster, metal, and wood, searching desperately with his eyes for the chip. As the minutes ticked by, he started to lose hope. How was he going to find such a small square piece of metal in a huge pile of rubble?  

He lifted a huge piece of plaster out of the way, about as big as him, to reveal a pile of crushed wood underneath. With a heavy heart, he realized it was his newly fixed desk. He could see that everything on it was completely destroyed. His coffee mug was shattered, vials that had been sitting on it were broken, and shredded pieces of paper littered the floor. But there was no sign of the chip. 

He dropped to his knees, throwing the debris his desk left behind out of the way. He hoped beyond anything else that the chip was still intact. After a few minutes of throwing around garbage, he spotted something shiny lying on the floor. His hand was shaky as he reached down for it, gingerly taking it between his thumb and forefinger. He held the small object up to his face and the eyes behind his thick goggles lit up with joy.  

It was the chip! And miraculously it was still intact. Flug could not believe it as he carefully examined it. There wasn't even a scratch!  Not wanting to waste any more time, he jumped up from his place on the floor, and scrambled out of the pile of rubble, stuffing a few tools that he found into the pockets on his lab coat.  

As soon as he was out, he tore open the box and dumped the components on the ground along with the tools. He was very glad now that he had made himself memorize the blueprints for the device. He was trying to hastily put the shrink ray together, wanting to get it done as fast as he could. He didn't know how long the heroes could hold off Black Hat, or if they could even stop him.  

The fate of the city, the fate of people, maybe even the fate of the world, rested on him. 


	8. Should I Continue This?

Gosh, I didn't mean to leave this alone for.....6 months?! Has it really been that long?! I'm so sorry! I know I said I'd continue this, but life got very hectic and depressing, and I've been struggling for some time now with a lot of different issues that I'd rather not discuss. But I've left this alone for so long now, that I don't quite remember where I was going with this, and have lost my train of thought for an 8th chapter. So here's the big question: Should I go ahead and try to continue the story? I don't expect anyone to answer this. I've been gone for so long that those who bookmarked this probably don't even look at it anymore. I don't anyone has been looking at this! Seems dead. Well, if I don't continue this story, I do have a lot of one-shots I want to write about the Heroic!AU and my self-insert oc, Willow. So if I do decide not to continue this, then I will start writing those. This is why I don't write long fanfictions. Because I never finish them! I'm extremely bad about that. I thought I could finish this one, but then life got in the way. I feel like if I quit on this, I will be letting a lot of people who like it down. But I just don't know if I can. Still, if anyone wants me to continue, then I will try my best to finish this story.


	9. Discontinued

I have made a decision about what to do with my fanfiction. I'm very sorry to say, but I do not think I will continue this. Besides just not having the time to write and maintain this anymore, I have another reason that has been bothering me and that you all might think is very stupid. 

I did not write Flug canonically. 

That may seem like a bizarre reason for....well, most. After all, so many people have different interpretations of Dr. Flug that it should be ok to write him the way I did. But I don't like that! I wanted to write the characters as canonically as possible. Flug is suppose to be evil, a real mad scientist. But the way I wrote him, he is not like that. 

And it bothers me a lot! 

So, I'm sorry, but I do not think I will continue with this fanfiction. Thanks to everyone who read it, liked it, and commented nice things on it. I really appreciate it, and it makes me more confident in my writing. I'm still going to write more in the future, just not anymore chapter fanfics unless they are one-shots. 

I hope you all understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. :(


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